Felony Murder Elimination Project encourages our advocates and supporters to attend an urgent live press briefing and virtual screening of “Life for Jeffery Lee,” a documentary exposing the systemic failures driving Alabama’s scheduled execution of Jeffery Lee. The event is scheduled to begin at 4pm Pacific Time.

In just eight days, the State of Alabama plans to move forward with the state-sponsored murder of Mr. Lee, despite a jury voting to spare his life. Tonight, state leadership and Mr. Lee’s legal team will hold an urgent live press briefing and virtual screening of “Life for Jeffery Lee,” a crucial 10-minute documentary. A live Q&A for media and the public will follow immediately.

For over 20 years, Mr. Lee has been on Alabama’s death row, despite a jury of his peers voting 7-5 for a sentence of Life Without Parole. Under the law at the time, that 7–5 vote was only a recommendation. The final decision belonged to the trial judge, who chose to impose death despite the jury’s vote for life; a practice Alabama abolished in 2017.

Mr. Lee’s personal story is one of profound transformation; today, he serves as a prison Chaplain and a leader in the Kairos ministry, dedicating his life to faith and the service of others. However, the system that sentenced him ignored the jury’s plea for mercy and never heard the full truth of Mr. Lee’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and severe childhood trauma, physical and psychological scars that fundamentally impacted his life.

While the vast majority of states with capital punishment continue on a downward trend of executions, Alabama has continued to go against trend by carrying on with scheduled execution dates. Additionally, the State of Alabama has repeatedly shown blatant incompetence in carrying out executions. They need to pause ALL executions to allow for meaningful review of their protocols.

Why this matters NOW:

• The Clock is Ticking: Jeffery Lee is scheduled for execution on June 11th; just over a week away.
• A Defunct Law: Mr. Lee’s jury explicitly recommended a sentence of Life Without Parole. A single judge overruled that decision using Alabama’s controversial judicial override law, a practice so flawed it was completely abolished in 2017. Yet, the state still intends to execute Mr. Lee based on a legal mechanism Alabama has already rejected.
• The Crucial Question: This briefing will examine the fatal flaws in Alabama’s capital sentencing system and the immediate actions required to stop an execution that defies a jury’s explicit mandate.

Facilitators:

• Senator Robert Stewart, Alabama State Senate (District 23)
• Leslie S. Smith, First Assistant & Supervisor, Capital Habeas Unit, Federal Defender for the Middle District of Alabama
• Laurel Hattix, Federal Public Defender, Capital Habeas Unit for the Middle District of Alabama

Use this link to access the event —>>> Live Press Briefing and Virtual Screening of “Life for Jeffery Lee”. The link will go live at 5:55pm Central Time, 3:55pm Pacific Time.